Sword of Damocles
by shadylion
Summary: A devious fox, caged by Naruto's will alone... A momentary lapse can have terrible consequences. How long can a child battle with a demon? How long can Naruto survive with Damocles' sword hanging over his neck?
1. Friend

**Chapter 1**

**Friend**

Destiny rules above you, for each action you take you keep a watchful eye out for it, for it hangs like Damocles' sword above your neck.

Create your own destiny, you say, make your own future… be the captain of your fate and the master of your soul!

What some people sometimes forget is this. All destiny does is to acknowledge the existence of some higher power, some supreme being that decides what you can do and what you cannot do. Some things cannot be changed, and it is a waste of time and other resources to try and change them. Nothing can be done to make a person fly without external aid, and flapping your hands endlessly refusing to acknowledge defeat is not going to help. It is impossible to live endlessly, and even if you keep a careful watch on what you eat and make sure you don't get ill, you're bound to die someday. In such cases it is wise to accept defeat and believe in destiny, people are destined to die some time.

Some battles must not be fought, for you're bound to lose them. Some battles can be fought, those that can be won. But most importantly, some battles _need not_ be fought, for the results are not often worth the effort you put in.

It was a long long time before Naruto realized this essential truth.

As long back as he could remember, Naruto had always been alone. Not literally, for Konoha was a pretty fairly populated village, years of comparative peace had made the Hidden Village prosperous. He had always subconsciously known that there was something different about him, something that would never allow him to lead a normal life. Why else would perfect strangers look at him with loathing in their eyes, as though there was nothing more they could wish for than for him to cease his existence? Why else was it that he was the only one who had trouble buying stuff at shops, even if he had the money? Why else was it that however hard he tried, he could never make any friends, it almost seemed as though the other children were warned against speaking to him…

He did try though. He had noticed early on that people who made jokes and made people laugh were often the most popular, that cheerful people had the most number of friends. It didn't work. It didn't seem to matter that he had a big grin plastered on his face all the time, nor did it help that he was perhaps the biggest prankster in the history of Konoha. People did laugh at him sometimes, acknowledging his desperate pleas of attention, but they always went away when he tried to approach them afterwards.

Six years of miserable existence. Six years of loneliness. Six years without a single friend…

Well, perhaps that wasn't exactly true. He had made a friend, for a period of two days. Those were easily the best two days of his life.

It had happened like this…

A group of kids were playing 'ninja' at the local park. Naruto was sitting gloomily on a nearby bench watching them. He had tried joining them in their game, but they had refused to let him… with good reason. Whenever Naruto joined the rest of the kids in their games, their parents would mysteriously appear and take them back home, some of them scolding the kids for associating with 'that' boy.

Naruto wondered what he could do the gain their attention. There was an old man sleeping on a nearby bench, so tying his shoelaces together and yelling 'FIRE' in his ear seemed a rather good idea…

'Hi' A voice interrupted him from his reverie. He looked up startled, meeting a pair of uncertain green eyes. He actually turned around to look behind him, feeling certain that there was someone else there. When he found no one, he turned back slowly, the almost ever present grin back on his face. 'Hi,' he said. _Finally! It had worked! All the gesturing and pranking hadn't been for nothing!_

The girl, he saw, seemed to be of his own age, and she had… pink hair? He'd never met anyone with that colour of hair before! In any case, before she could notice his gawking, he shut his mouth quickly, not wanting to offend his first friend.

Far from being offended, the girl was nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other. 'Umm… I noticed that no one was playing with you… so, do you want to play or something?'

Naruto's mouth dropped open. She _hadn't _been speaking to him because of his jokes? Ironically, the very moment he had dropped his mask of cheerfulness, he had made a friend? How could this be?

The girl was tracing patterns in the dust with her foot, her head bowed down.

'No one will play with me either, they make fun of my forehead, I know it's wide and ugly…' she trailed off. Naruto understood completely. _A kindred spirit!_

He jumped off the bench. 'What's your name?'

'Ha-Haruno Sakura.'

Naruto smiled brilliantly. 'Come, Sakura-chan. I know a great place in the woods where we can play hide and seek!'

Sakura looked up with a watery smile on her face. Naruto was shocked to see tears of relief in her eyes. He wiped them off carefully with a finger and proclaimed loudly, 'The next time someone makes fun of you, they'll have _me_ to deal with!' He jabbed at his chest proudly, 'Uzumaki Naruto!'

'Y-yes, Naruto… kun'

The old man on the bench opened an eye to look at the backs of Naruto and Sakura, who were trotting away happily, Naruto talking nineteen to the dozen, and Sakura listening to him happily. He smiled, what he had seen in his crystal ball had worried him, despite his insistence that people treat Naruto just like any other child his age, they did not seem to have listened and he had seen for himself the lonely life Naruto had led. A friend would do the boy great wonders.

Naruto enjoyed his afternoon thoroughly, and from what he could see, Sakura seemed to as well. In his free time, he had explored the woods surrounding the Hidden Village extensively. He knew the terrain like the back of his hand, better than any child of his age, and probably better than quite a few Genins as well. As a consequence, he was able to show to an enthralled Sakura several of his hideouts, small caves, hollow trees and even the tiny cavern behind a waterfall. He had long dreamed of sharing his secret hiding places with someone else, and Sakura was properly impressed with everything he had to show her.

They parted on agreeable terms and promised to meet up the next day. Each went home that day with the joy in their hearts that only making a new friend can give.

The next day, Naruto took Sakura rooftop climbing. This was in fact, the quickest way to get from one point in the village to another. Naruto had figured this out after being chased by irate villagers who had been at the receiving end of one of his pranks. He told her of all the pranks he had pulled on the villagers and the Hokage, the most memorable one being the one where he had jumped on to the window sill of the Sandaime's office and thrown a water balloon inside, soaking an important foreign dignitary…

Sakura had never been to the Hokage's office, so soon they found themselves on the roof of the grandest and most important building in the village. They had barely set foot on the roof when they found someone standing before them. Naruto blinked, _this guy was really fast…_ he hadn't even seen him approach.

He looked up, but found the ninja's face buried in a book with a bright orange cover. There came a voice from behind the pages, 'The Hokage is having important visitors from the Hidden Village of the Mist. I suggest you don't disturb him today.'

'We weren't going to!' Naruto exclaimed indignantly, 'And why are you reading a book if you're supposed to be on duty here?'

Naruto hadn't learned to read yet, but apparently Sakura had, for she squinted her eyes and began to read painstakingly, 'I-Icha Icha Para-'

The jounin (for Naruto was sure that no Chuunin could move that fast, and he had been chased by a few of them) put his book away hastily, muttering something about their reading the book when they were older. Naruto saw that most of his face was covered with a mask, and his forehead protector had been pulled down over one eye. _Hmm… someone injured during battle then…_ The respect for the ninja went up instantly in Naruto's eyes.

'Sorry for disturbing you,' he said as politely as he could, grabbed Sakura's hand and made off quickly. The jounin gazed after the retreating figures and rubbed the back of his head slightly in confusion. 'Hmm… I thought I'd have more trouble dealing with him…' He shrugged, dismissing the event as one of little consequence, and got back to reading his book.

Later that evening, Naruto and Sakura were watching the sunset sitting atop the Hokage mountain, on which the faces of the four Hokages were immortalized.

'Say, Naruto-kun…'

Naruto smiled, it still felt a little weird, for this was the first time someone had attached a 'kun' after his name, but it felt good in any case, for it was a mark of familiarity.

'Yes, Sakura-Chan?'

'Do you think my forehead's too wide?'

Naruto stifled a laugh. He knew women were somewhat vain, his apartment manager spent hours in front of the mirror everyday, but he had thought that the obsession with their appearance would start at a later age…

He knew that his answer would be very important to Sakura, so he turned to her, met her eyes and made a show of observing her forehead.

'I think it's perfect.' He looked away quickly, wondering if he had gone too far.

'Say, Naruto-kun…'

'Yes, Sakura-chan?'

'We're friends, right?'

Naruto's heart skipped a beat, and he turned look at Sakura properly. Yes, she was serious, this wasn't a joke, _this was actually happening!_

He smiled. It wasn't one of his ear splitting grins, not one of the smiles he always wore as a mask. This was a true, heartfelt expression of happiness…

'Yes, Sakura-chan, we're friends. I meant what I said yesterday. Anyone who annoys you will have me to answer to. And that's a promise…'

Well, on hindsight Naruto supposed that he should have known that it was too good to last. Later, as they made their way back to Sakura's house, they met her father, who was looking for his daughter as night had fallen. Sakura was limping slightly, for she had skinned her knee while climbing down from the mountain.

Sakura was glad to see her father, she stepped up to introduce Naruto, and was greatly surprised when Naruto shied away. Naruto had spotted the familiar expression on her father's face, the familiar look of loathing.

Sakura was looking between the two of them uncertainly, her father, who was glaring daggers at him, and Naruto who was looking away. 'Umm… I'll see you tomorrow then?'

Naruto nodded slightly and took off. Of course she wouldn't turn up, now that her father had seen him, he would make sure of that. As he left, he could swear that he heard a muttered 'Demon brat' behind him.

Hoping against hope, Naruto had gone to their meeting place the next day, and wasn't really surprised when Sakura didn't show up. Just bitterly disappointed, that was all…

.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.

This had been over two months ago.

Naruto kicked a stone moodily off the road. _Damn it, he shouldn't have kept Sakura outside so late, else perhaps they would've had a few more days together before her parents found out._ He plopped down on the park bench, their old meeting place. He still came here every day, not out of the hope that she would come, but mostly to think. He scowled when he noticed the old man sleeping in the same bench. He didn't like to be reminded of Sakura…

Sakura had made new friends now. He had secretly followed her, and had nearly jumped out and hit them when some rowdy boys poked fun at her. He didn't do so however, for someone else had come to Sakura's defence, a girl named Ino. The next day the same thing happened as well, he longed to go protect Sakura, but being seen with him would get her into more trouble with her parents. He was slightly jealous now that she had made a new friend, and felt guilty about feeling jealous as well. He should feel happy, he supposed, Sakura was no longer alone and friendless.

He thought about other things as well, things that were worrying him slightly. For a while now, the mask had been slipping. Why, just yesterday, when the manager of the restaurant he had been to that afternoon had seen through his disguise and had unceremoniously thrown him out, he had snarled at the man. Not the usual smile and apology, but he had bared his teeth and growled out a few choice insults, mostly regarding the man's mother and the state of his parents' marriage. Had it just been his imagination or had a flicker of _fear_ passed over the man's face?

This was new territory for Naruto. Expressing his natural emotions wouldn't get him any friends and plenty of enemies, that was true. On one hand, he really didn't need any more enemies, he was unpopular enough as he was. But on the other hand, it seemed to instill fear in a few of the people… and if people are afraid of you, they won't be walking all over you, would they?

_Was _it necessary for him to befriend all the villagers? He had tried to for as long as he could remember, but to no avail. Wouldn't it be better if people feared him? For fear brings with it a respect for the opponent's strength. It would be nice of course, if he were on friendly terms with the entire village, but was it worth degrading himself?

It was then that Naruto learnt his first lesson, _some battles are not worth fighting, for the results are not worth the effort…_

With a start, Naruto realized that it was nightfall already. He jumped off his seat and started walking back home, contemplating how exactly he was going to go about implementing his new philosophy.

'Out of my way, demon brat!'

A drunk was wandering up the road, weaving left and right, almost toppling over. Naruto frowned slightly, how should he respond to this? He put on his most forbidding expression, one that made it look as though he was suffering from diarrhea… and made his voice as low and dangerous sounding as he possibly could. 'Don't test my patience, miserable drunkard!' he hissed, baring his teeth.

It was lucky that the person in front of him was drunk, he thought, else they might have very well laughed at him, a six year old who was trying to act tough. As it was, the man's eyes widened in fear and he took off, running as fast as his intoxicated legs would carry him, shouting at the top of his voice, 'THE DEMON! IT'S BACK! THE NINE TAILS HAS RETURNED!'

Now confused and slightly worried that the shouting would bring more people on to the scene, Naruto hurried away. What did the man mean? The Nine-Tails? The name sounded vaguely familiar, he had heard it mentioned sometime before… In any case, why did the man call him a demon? Ought he to disregard the comments as the nonsensical drabble of an inebriated man? But… but Sakura's father had called him a demon as well!

Naruto hardly noticed that he had reached a restaurant and he had wandered in and ordered ramen. In fact, it was halfway through the meal that he realized that he had come without his disguise (to be honest, it wasn't much of a disguise, just a scarf wrapped around his face and a cap to hide his trademark spiky hair), but the man didn't seem to say anything. He might have been too busy to notice, but since there were just two other people apart from him eating there…

Naruto shovelled the ramen inside as fast as he could as the man approached him. He braced himself silently as the man spoke.

'Anything else?'

Naruto blinked. 'Excuse me?'

'Would you like to order something else?'

'Er… a mi-miso ramen please.'

Naruto left the shop an hour later, smacking his lips. Ramen was tasty, he decided. He had better like the taste anyway, for he was going to patronize the Ichiraku Ramen Stand for the next few days, or however long it took for someone to drop a hint with the man that Naruto was someone to be avoided.

But more importantly, he needed to find out about the Nine-Tails, there was a yearly festival on October the tenth, he remembered now, to mark the day the Nine-Tails had been defeated. Oddly enough, the day coincided with his birthday…

How could he find out about the Nine-Tails? _Hmm… a problem_

There wasn't anyone he could just go and ask, there wasn't anyone in the village who would speak to him willingly. Well, there was this Hokage fellow, one that dropped by sometimes and asked him how things were going… but his visits were few and far between. The old man was a pretty busy person he supposed, being the head of a Hidden village wouldn't leave you much free time…

He could go to the Konoha library, he was sure that there would be scrolls detailing the Nine-Tails's attack and its subsequent defeat, but there was a slight problem. He didn't know how to read…

Most children learned to read from their parents, before they joined the Academy. He could only join the Academy when he was eight years old, and that was still two years away. In any case, he was pretty sure that they didn't teach the kids something as basic as reading at the Academy…

Perhaps he had better visit the Hokage himself after all. Hadn't the old man told him to visit in case he had any problems? Naruto's stubbornness had stopped him from visiting so far, he had even refused to admit to himself that there was anything wrong with his life, and the streak of independence within him refused to allow him to discuss his problems with anyone. But perhaps it was time… after all, the village owed him _something_ for its treatment all these years, it was time that he interrupted the Hokage's busy schedule.

With that decided, Naruto walked back to his apartment with a sense of determination and purpose in his stride…

.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.

**A/N: **EOP isn't abandoned… Just that I'm finding it difficult to write… and besides, Naruto's cool!

Oh, and a happy new year to everyone!


	2. Teacher

**Chapter 2**

**Teacher**

**

* * *

**

The next morning, Naruto was outside the Hokage's office. He had made himself as neat and tidy as he possibly could, and considering that he was six years old, it wasn't much. Still, his blond hair was lying pressed to his scalp, although in an hour or two after it dried out, it would surely spring back up to its former irrepressible state. His orange jumpsuit was clean, but was wrinkled and smelt strongly of soap, for he had washed it himself and had forgotten to get it pressed.

The Chuunin who stood guard at the door wrinkled his nose in distaste. Anyone else might have thought that it was due to the detergent smell, but Naruto knew that even if he had worn a tuxedo, the man would still have looked at him that way.

'I need to meet the Hokage.'

The guard sneered at him. 'Hokage-sama's busy. He has no time to meet the likes of you.'

Naruto pondered over his next move. He had managed to frighten a drunkard into submission, but a shinobi would be a tough nut to crack. He would undoubtedly find himself out on the street if he tried to force his way past the man. Aw, what the hell, if he was going to get kicked out, he might as well earn it. He opened his mouth…

'HEY, OLD MAN! TELL THIS BASTARD TO LET ME IN! I NEED TO SEE YOU!'

The Chuunin started forward in annoyance. Naruto took a step back and spat out, 'Don't you dare touch me!' He let a bit of anger seep into his voice, and was somewhat troubled by how easily it came. Then it hit him, it was his natural anger, he had never expressed it before, and now it was a strange feeling…

The man paused in surprise for an instant, but pressed forward with an ugly gleam in his eyes. Things looked bad for Naruto, but the Hokage opened his door at this crucial moment and he was saved.

The Chuunin turned to him, 'I apologize for the disturbance, Hokage-sama! Please don't worry, I shall deal with the boy immediately.'

'Peace, Yusuke. I will see you now Naruto. Step inside the office, please.'

'But… but he doesn't have an appointment!'

'As a Hokage, I have a responsibility towards the citizens of Konoha, do I not? If anyone needs to see me, he may…'

The Hokage beckoned Naruto over and headed back into his own office. Smiling sweetly at the disgruntled man and marveling at his own luck, Naruto trotted behind the Sandaime as he entered the office of the most powerful shinobi in Konoha.

Naruto looked around the office with some awe, as he had never been there before. An impressive pile of papers sat upon the massive desk, behind which the old man was slowly making his way. The view from the wide windows was breathtaking, he could see almost the entire village. Naruto's gaze wandered over the far wall, whereupon hung four framed pictures. Four powerful men, the Hokages of the Hidden Village of the Leaf…

'Sit, Naruto.' The Hokage gestured towards the chair in front of his desk, upon which Naruto clambered with some difficulty. 'How is life treating you, my young friend?'

_My young friend…_ Naruto beamed up at the old man, a brilliant smile on his face. 'I'm all right, old geezer! And er… I'm sorry for disturbing you…' he added, eyeing the pile of documents guiltily. 'Think nothing of it,' he waved his hand dismissively, 'I needed a break in any case.'

The Sandaime did not ask him outright what he wanted, for which Naruto was grateful. He spent a few minutes chattering about the new ramen shop he had discovered. The Hokage listened patiently. Eventually Naruto paused, debating whether or not to mention the episode with the drunkard and the mention of the Nine-Tails demon.

'Have you made any new friends lately, Naruto?' the Hokage asked. 'I believe you were playing with a charming young girl in the woods the other day, were you not?'

Naruto's face fell. 'Sakura…' he nodded, sadness creeping into his voice unintentionally. 'Yeah, she... wait a minute…' he paused, his face screwed up as though trying to recollect something. He looked at the Hokage who seemed to have a knowing look in his eye. 'It was you…' he said slowly, 'It was you in the park wasn't it? You were sitting on the bench…'

'Yes,' the Hokage nodded, inwardly impressed, 'After a tiring day at work, nothing is more refreshing than the sight of young ones playing.'

Naruto nodded. 'She… isn't my friend anymore.'

The Hokage kept his face neutral, but there was a glint in his eye that Naruto did not like. 'I don't like her!' he burst out. 'She's annoying… and she has a really ugly forehead!'

The Hokage nodded, 'I see…'

'What an incredibly loyal friend you are, Naruto…' he thought to himself with a sigh, 'Such a pity… I can only do so much to help you…'

'He bought it!' Naruto thought to himself gleefully. He felt a little guilty lying to the old man, but he didn't want the Hokage to think badly of Sakura-chan.

'Anyway,' he spoke, cleverly changing the subject, 'I was wondering… if maybe you could… teach me how to read?'

The Hokage rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'Let's see, you are six years old, are you not?'

'I'll be seven this October,' Naruto said proudly. 'And when I'm eight, I can join the Academy! They don't teach students how to read there, do they?' he finished a little anxiously, he didn't want to wait that long.

'No, you are correct.' The Hokage rubbed his chin again. 'I cannot teach you personally, of course,' he said gently, 'But I'll assign a Chuunin to teach you, will that be all right?'

Naruto frowned, 'He might not want to teach me…'

'Ah,' the old man chuckled, 'Fear not… I will make this a mission.'

'A mission?'

'Ah, of course you do not know…' the Hokage murmured, and then proceeded to explain about the system used by the Hidden Village of the Leaf, about the differently ranks accorded to missions based on the length of time, difficulty and danger. Naruto listened entranced, until a thought struck him and his face fell.

'But then… I've to pay for this?'

'Of course not! The village will pay for this. You are one of us, Naruto, a citizen of Konoha. We always take care of our own. That's what makes the Hidden Village of the Leaf so strong…'

Naruto nodded seriously, 'I'll remember that.'

'Your new instructor, should he accept the mission, will come to your flat tomorrow after Academy hours.'

'_My teacher's an Academy student?'_ screeched Naruto indignantly.

The old man laughed. 'Of course not! The person I have in mind is a teacher at the Academy. He's a Chuunin, in fact. He became one a month ago.'

'I see.' Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment. 'Well, I'd better be going…' he said reluctantly. He jumped off the chair, and on a sudden impulse, bowed to the Hokage, but his enthusiastic 'Thanks, old geezer!' took away all the solemnity of the action.

He was almost out of the door when the Hokage stopped him. He looked at the boy for a moment before saying, 'Come again next week, I would like to hear how your classes go.' Naruto nodded happily.

* * *

Umino Iruka was a proud and happy man. He had made Chuunin a month ago in the exam held at the Hidden Village of the Rain. He had immediately joined the Academy then, fulfilling his long cherished dream of being a teacher. The Academy took a little getting used to, after the first day he had felt that keeping forty noisy kids in order was worthy of an A-Rank mission. Still, he was slowly getting into the groove, the other teachers were easy to get along with, and the work was rather light. His jounin-sensei had told him that with a little effort he ought to be able to clear the Jounin exam, but Iruka was satisfied with where he was at the moment. 

And the fact that the Hokage had called him personally for a mission made him feel rather pleased with himself…

Of course, the feeling wasn't to last very long.

'Teaching a child how to read and write?' Iruka asked the Hokage, 'That's a C-Rank mission?' He hesitated, feeling that something wasn't quite right, 'Of course, I'll accept the mission…'

'The child's name,' the Hokage interrupted, staring into Iruka's eyes, 'is Uzumaki Naruto.'

Iruka felt the blood drain from his face. 'P-Pardon me, Hokage-sama, I cannot accept the mission.'

The Hokage continued staring into Iruka's eyes, until the younger man looked away, feeling a slight twinge of guilt. 'Knowing what happened to my parents,' he continued a little defiantly, 'I'm sure you can understand…'

The Sandaime sighed. Iruka squirmed a little, refusing to look up, refusing to see the disappointment that he knew would be there in the Hokage's eyes.

'I'm disappointed in you, Iruka,' the old man said, echoing his thoughts, 'It seems that even after becoming a Chuunin you fail to understand that you cannot always choose your missions…'

'I feel that I'm not the best person to take on this mission, Hokage-sama,' Iruka spoke, knowing that it was rather disrespectful of him to question his decision and judgment.

'Oh, you do, do you?' For the first time in their conversation, the Hokage seemed angry, 'And why is that?'

'My parents were killed by the Kyuubi. I was just a boy then, I grew up an orphan,' Iruka shook his head slightly, 'There are too many painful memories, Hokage-sama…'

'My dear Iruka…' the Hokage said gently, 'It is precisely because of those reasons that I considered you the best person for the mission.'

'I-I don't understand.'

'Knowing the pain of growing up without your parents,' he continued, 'I thought you might be able to empathize with Naruto's situation. It really breaks my heart sometimes,' he paused, his voice cracking a little, 'to see the fake smile on the boy's face, his clamours for attention…'

The words touched a chord in Iruka, and his eyes glazed over, as a result he missed what the Hokage was saying next. Scenes from his childhood flashed before his eyes, as the pain… after so many years, the pain of being alone threatened to overwhelm him once again…

'…make it a B-Rank mission, and hope someone else will be able…'

'I'll do it,' Iruka said suddenly, surprising even himself. 'I'll… do my best, Hokage-sama.'

The Hokage looked at him keenly for a moment, before nodding his head. 'Of course you will,' he murmured, half to himself. 'Here's the address. I have informed him that you will be there tomorrow evening. From then on, of course, you may choose any convenient time…'

Iruka nodded dazedly as he stepped out of the office. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

The next evening found Naruto pacing around his apartment. 'He's late,' he thought to himself, as he glanced at the tiny alarm clock on his mantelpiece for perhaps the tenth time. In all his usual brilliance, Naruto had forgotten to ask the Hokage the Academy hours, but surely it would have gotten over by now? Perhaps the Hokage wasn't able to find anyone, or perhaps the Chuunin couldn't find the house… 

Naruto sighed to himself, as he looked around his tiny apartment. His dirty clothes were stashed away out of sight in a cupboard, the floor was somewhat clean. There was a carton of his favourite orange juice on the table and two glasses next to it. No one could say Naruto didn't take his job as a host seriously.

Naruto flung himself on the worn couch, careful not to disturb the cushions. Apart from providing comfort, they were also hiding the tears in the cover from which the stuffing was peeking out. He wondered to himself whether he ought to have asked the Hokage about what the drunkard had told him (or rather yelled out) about the Nine-Tails demon. The Hokage seemed to be a nice man, and seemed to care about Naruto's well-being. So, perhaps it was for the better that he hadn't made a mention of the incident, he didn't want the old man to think he was worried about a small thing like that…

He was so immersed in his thoughts that the knock on the door startled him. He nearly fell over hurrying to the door and flung it open rather violently, causing the man standing outside to step back in alarm and reach for a kunai.

'Ah…' Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, 'Sorry about that.'

The man, no, the shinobi, he corrected himself, spotting the forehead protector, was looking at him closely, 'Uzumaki Naruto?'

'That's me!' he said, practically bouncing on his feet, 'and you're my new teacher, right?'

'Yes,' Iruka said, still staring at the boy. 'My name is Umino Iruka, you may call me Umino-sensei…'

'You're a dolphin, huh?' Naruto laughed, and jabbed his chest 'Well, I'm a fishcake!'

Looking at Naruto's expectant face, Iruka didn't know what to do. He swallowed, as the seconds ticked by, but he couldn't… he just _couldn't_ bring himself to smile at the boy… There was an uncomfortable silence for a while. Naruto smiled a little uncertainly looking at the somewhat stern expression on the scarred face of the Chuunin. Seeing this, Iruka schooled his features to a carefully neutral expression. 'Ah, so, may I come in then?'

Naruto stepped back, allowing Iruka to enter. He gazed around the apartment, and chose to sit down on one of the wooden chairs by the table. Naruto hovered around uncertainly. 'Umm… would you like some orange juice?'

'No, thank you,' Iruka said stiffly. 'Now, if you could sit down…'

Iruka spread out a scroll on the table, 'This is the Hiragana script,' he began. Naruto looked on fascinated, as Iruka explained about the forty six characters, and their accompanying sounds. He reached out to trace the character with a finger, brushing Iruka's sleeve on the way, who flinched visibly, and drew his hand back as though stung.

Iruka recovered quickly and continued with the lesson, but Naruto listened on passively, only nodding when required and not really paying attention. It seemed his new sensei did not like him any better than the rest of the villagers, he was merely better at hiding his dislike. He couldn't help feel a bit disappointed. Still, he did take his job of teaching Naruto seriously.

'And that was what matters, doesn't it?' Naruto thought to himself as he shut the door behind his new teacher. He had wanted a teacher, and he'd got a teacher, it would be foolish to expect anything more.

He pored over the scroll Iruka had left behind, with instructions to revise, trying his best to memorize the shapes of the letters. He hadn't been paying much attention, so he couldn't remember the accompanying sounds at all. Sighing, Naruto gave it up as a bad job, and tucked the scroll away safely.

He decided that he felt hungry, so he made his way to his new favourite shop, Ichiraku Ramen, where he sat down in the farthest corner, which happened to be rather shadowy.

'Hey, kid,' the owner called to him cheerfully, 'Come on over here, we aren't expecting much of a rush today.'

Naruto sat down as asked cautiously. The owner was humming to himself as he stirred the pot, while his pretty daughter was chopping vegetables beside him. 'Hello there,' she called, 'Been coming here rather often, haven't you?'

To his shock, Naruto found himself stuttering as he replied, 'T-The r-ramen's really good, I mean,' he amended hastily, 'Your cooking's really good…' he trailed off as the girl started to laugh.

'Here,' the man set the bowl down, along with the chopsticks. 'Itadakimasu,' he murmured, smelling the ramen appreciatively.

'You're mum doesn't mind your coming here?'

'I don't have a mother,' Naruto replied, shoveling the ramen down. He fanned his mouth furiously when it turned out hotter than he had expected. 'Or a father,' he said, emptying a large glass of water.

A tiny corner of his mind (the part that wasn't obsessed with the ramen in front of him), noticed that the girl had stopped chopping the carrots. 'Whom do you stay with then?'

'I _…slurp slurp…_ live alone' Naruto spoke in between mouthfuls. _This was tasty! _The girl shared an uncertain look with her father.

Naruto glanced up in surprise, as the man handed another bowl to him. 'Here,' he said gruffly, 'It's on the house.'

He didn't quite understand what was going on, but he did however understand the concept of free food. The sweetest taste however, came just as he left, as the man called out, 'Come again!'

* * *

**A/N: **Rather sappy! Anyway, I know it's going a bit slowly… but I want a good buildup to the story, about what made Naruto er… what he becomes...  



	3. Stalker

After a couple of 'plaints about the use of single quotes for dialogues, I'm switching over to double quotes… In my defense, the Harry Potter books are that way!

**Chapter 3**

**Stalker**

Naruto soon found himself in a sort of routine. Breakfast in Ichiraku was followed by poring over the Hiragana scroll, and practicing writing the letters, or doing whatever homework Umino-sensei had given him. When he got bored, Naruto would get his lunch packed at the ramen stand and head off into the woods.

Naruto loved the forests around Konoha. He liked watching the sunbathing snakes, occasionally poking them and watching the smooth movement of their scales as they uncoiled themselves. He liked watching the squirrels chatter amongst each other and chase each other madly through the branches, performing acrobatic feats that a ninja would find himself hard-pressed to match. He loved clambering up the tall oak trees to stand on the topmost branches, and gaze over his forest. Yes, he considered it _his _forest, his domain… his haven from the people of Konoha.

In the evening, of course, there were Umino-sensei's lessons. Naruto soon began to find them easier and easier, and was already able to read, albeit somewhat haltingly. It was his impression that Iruka was rather surprised as well, but the poker-faced Chuunin would never show it of course. Not a word of praise or criticism came from the teacher, he was there to educate Naruto, nothing more, nothing less. After the first few lessons, Naruto paid no special attention to the man, and never talked more than what was necessary. The arrangement seemed to suit both of them.

The meetings with the Hokage turned out to be weekly occurrences as well. Strangely enough, the Hokage seemed rather interested to know how Umino Iruka treated him, rather than how much he had learnt. Naruto had merely told him that Umino Iruka was a good teacher, earning a noncommittal 'Hmm…' from the Sandaime. While it put him off a little, for he had wanted to show off his reading skills in front of the old man, Naruto recognized that the Hokage wanted him to make friends with the man. While he appreciated the effort, Naruto didn't really have much interest in getting to know the stony faced Chuunin any better…

An added bonus of the weekly meetings was that the Hokage always insisted on treating him to lunch afterwards. Naruto invariably dragged the man down to Ichiraku Ramen and usually made him pay through his nose. The owner of the stand was rather overawed when the Hokage first showed up in his humble stand, and was further left gaping at Naruto's idea of introductions ('Hey ramen man, meet the old geezer! Old Geezer… Ramen man!').

Naruto loved the stand. The man was usually rather busy bent over his pot all the time, but Ayame-chan (that was how he addressed her, blissfully ignoring the fact that she was ten years older than him) seemed to go out of her way to talk to him. It was no secret that Naruto liked to talk, and it soon became apparent that he had an opinion on anything and everything, from how the village was being run to what flowers she ought to plant in her garden.

Life was good to Naruto…

* * *

One evening two months later, after bidding goodbye to his teacher, or rather, slamming the door shut behind him, Naruto found that Umino-sensei had left something behind. A book to be precise… a plain black bound book. Curious, Naruto flipped the book open, and was startled when a vaguely familiar face peered out at him from the pages. A bored looking man, wearing his forehead protector over one eye… just where had he seen him before? Ah yes… that day… when he was showing Sakura-chan the Hokage's office… 

Naruto screwed up his face and peered at the page. Anyone watching would think that he was suffering from a particularly painful stomach ache, but that happened to be Naruto's style of reading. _Ha-ta-ke… Ka-ka-shi?_ So that was his name!

Naruto read on further… his eyes widening. Kakashi was well-known outside the village it seemed, a master of over a thousand jutsus, also going by the somewhat strange names of Copy Ninja and… what was this? Sharingan Kakashi? He resolved to ask the Hokage what exactly this Sharingan thing was the next time he met him.

This book was really interesting! Naruto turned the pages eagerly, trying to find another familiar face. Ah, there was the old man… Eh? What was this? He looked really young! It seemed that all the famous shinobi had nicknames, for the Sandaime was known as 'The Professor' and the Yondaime had the somewhat enigmatic name of 'Golden Flash'.

Naruto read on far into the night, engrossed in the mini biographies of some of the most powerful shinobis of the Leaf Village. There were a lot of names mentioned from other villages as well, but Naruto didn't bother reading those. Finally he fell asleep while reading about a certain Mitarashi Anko, a kunoichi with a rather disturbing smirk on her face. His dreams that night were about the day when there would be an entry named 'Uzumaki Naruto' in the book. The day when the people of Konoha would love him for his deeds of glory…

Naruto later learnt that the plain black book was an essential one that most ninjas own, and was popularly called 'The Bingo Book'.

* * *

"And you should have seen his face!" Naruto exclaimed, as he explained to Ayame-chan in great detail one of his more memorable pranks. "He put a foot in one of his boots and there was this nasty _squelch_…" Naruto broke off, howling with laughter, Ayame's lips were twitching as well. "And then he put his hand in the boot and pulled out this _BIG_ rotten fish…" he held out his hands, apparently to show the size of the fish, but lost his balance and fell unceremoniously off the chair, laughing all the while. 

Naruto sprung up soon after, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. After assuring Ayame that he was all right, and the bump on his head was nothing at all, he paid up his bill and left. Now he was wandering through the main thoroughfare of Konoha market, something he hadn't done for a rather long time, since his afternoons were usually spent in the woods.

It was odd, he mused, that a couple of months ago, he would have cut off his right hand to be allowed into one of these cafés, where all these mouthwatering dishes were being prepared, but now… he really didn't care anymore. Ramen was okay, he decided, it was easy on the wallet and filled one's stomach…

He sniffed the air appreciatively, inhaling the characteristic scent of the bustling marketplace. The unique blend of smells from the various restaurants, the smell of the sizzling oil in one of the roadside food stalls, the slight stench from the fishmongers'… why didn't he come here more often?

"The eye-sore is back," a voice filled with malice muttered from somewhere behind him. 'Perhaps it's because of things like that,' Naruto thought dryly, ignoring the voice and turning his back pointedly on the unknown person.

"_Shh_… lower your voice," a second voice hissed.

Now, Naruto was slightly confused. Why would anyone care if he heard their insults?

"Look at that dress!" the first one continued, in a much lower voice, Naruto had to strain his ears to hear them now. He looked down at his orange jumpsuit in confusion, was there something offensive about the colour?

"No modesty…"

"Look at the stares she's getting…"

_She?_ Naruto wheeled around, looking for the source of the voices. Ah, there they were, two middle-aged women (Old hags, he muttered to himself), their shopping baskets full, were glaring daggers at a young woman by a dango stall. They weren't talking about him after all!

Looking around, Naruto saw that the two hags weren't the only ones giving the young woman unfriendly looks. His practiced eye caught a few others, there was that group of women at the cobblers' shooting glances out of the corner of their eye. There were the two men, sipping tea outside a café, talking quietly amongst each other, eyeing her. And in the middle of everything was this lady, chomping on her dango unconcernedly.

The cool glances… the unfriendly stares… it all seemed so familiar! This woman… she was just like him!

"Just look at that dress…" the first hag repeated.

Naruto looked at that dress. She was wearing a huge brown trench coat, the front of which was thrown open, revealing a rather tight fishnet bodice. Since Naruto was merely six years old, he didn't understand what was wrong with the dress.

"… Shameless!" one of the hags spoke, a tad too loudly, for the woman in question looked up from her snack enquiringly. Catching the glares sent her way, her face broke into a wide smirk. Recognition struck Naruto… this was the woman from that black book, what was her name again?

Seeing that they had been spotted, the hags turned away. Before they could take a step, however, the shameless woman they had been talking about suddenly appeared in front of them.

'_Fast!'_ thought Naruto, as the gossiping women took a step back in fear. He looked at dango stall, where a couple of coins on the counter were the only evidence of the woman ever being there.

The woman continued chewing her dango-on-a-stick thoughtfully. Naruto noticed the brownish liquid dripping off the end of the stick… it was shoyu (soy sauce), which meant that the variety of dango the woman was eating was one called a mitarashi… Of course, now he remembered! That was her name! Mitarashi Anko!

"You know?" Anko spoke conversationally, "If you have something to say, tell it to my face. Those who talk behind my back… I call them cowards."

One of the women seemed to regain her spine, as she sniffed in an affected manner. "We weren't talking about _you_," she said pointedly. "Come, my dear, let's leave. It's getting rather stuffy…"

As the women passed her, Anko spoke again, "You know?" This time, Naruto decided, her smile was decidedly evil. "Technically, shinobi aren't supposed to pick fights with civilians…" The two women stiffened, as Anko chewed on. "But I think one of my snakes might've wound up in your shopping bag…"

A scream of terror later, potatoes and carrots were lying scattered on the street and the women managed to move a considerable distance in a short amount of time. "COME BACK! I think I was mistaken!" Anko shouted after their retreating backs, before collapsing in hysterical laughter.

This scene had attracted the attention of everyone in the vicinity by now. With superb disdain, Anko continued her way down the busy market street, with the people giving her a wide berth.

Naruto was left dumbfounded in the middle of the busy street, as life returned to normal around him. That woman… she was scary… but the way she handled those hags… _it was so cool!_

_

* * *

_

Later, if one asked Naruto why he followed behind Anko, he wouldn't have been able to answer. Just… that it seemed a good idea at that time. After the encounter, Anko seemed to be in a rather good mood.

It almost seemed as though he was following himself. The looks that Anko got, the way people avoided getting too close to her… it seemed disturbingly familiar. And yet… and yet, Anko didn't seem to care. She was cocky, rude and seemed to take great pleasure in affronting anyone she came across. Naruto enjoyed watching her give the blacksmith a piece of her mind, and the sight of the burly man cowering in front of her was almost too good to behold.

He didn't know how long he had been following her, but when Anko took a sudden turn into a side street, he was a little confused. From what he knew, the alley was a dead-end. He went inside, wondering he had mistaken this street for another. Nope… there was the brick wall… but where had she gone?

"Ahem…"

_Uh oh_… Naruto turned around quickly. Anko was regarding him reflectively. "Rather young to be a stalker, aren't you kid?"

Naruto turned a deep shade of red. "I wasn't stalking you!" he said indignantly.

Anko arched an eyebrow delicately. "Oh? I don't see anyone else wearing a dazzling orange costume around, do you?" She made a great show of looking around the empty alley. "Why were you following me?"

Naruto pondered over what he could say. Her 'take-bull-from-no one' attitude was something he could use, but then again, he was nowhere as strong as her… He finally decided to tell her the truth. "I think you're…"

"Hot? Geez, what a perverted kid you are…"

Naruto was mortified. He was going to say that she was cool! He had previously thought that they were similar, what with the way they were treated by the village and all, but it seemed evident now that they couldn't be more different… "Hey, lady! Don't put words in my mouth!" He pointed a finger at her accusingly.

Anko leaned closer, until she was merely a few inches from his face. Naruto gulped, she seemed more dangerous suddenly. Even her voice was a little more than a whisper, it gave him the willies. "No? You don't think I'm hot?"

At this moment, one could say that Naruto was scared. One could also hit closer to the mark and say that he was terrified. Any answer now seemed a wrong answer. He took a step back, but Anko stepped closer as well, her face expectant, and a sadistic twinkle in her eyes. She was enjoying this!

"Well… I suppose you are… pretty," he said grudgingly.

Anko rolled her eyes. "Ah, that's so romantic!" To Naruto's infinite relief, she turned away after ruffling his hair, making it messier than ever. "Call me in ten years kid…" She left, presumably to search for fresh prey. He breathed a sigh of relief…

* * *

Naruto didn't stop running until he was out of the market and had reached one of Konoha's main residential areas. He paused by a lamp-post, panting hard. He thought to himself that the black book was right to have Anko in it, she was downright terrifying. 

He saw another familiar figure walking slowly down the street. That's to say, he didn't really see his face, but was able to identify him by the small orange book he seemed to be engrossed in. Hatake Kakashi.

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL! I HAVE FOUND YOU!"

Naruto looked for the source of that voice… and found it. It was rather hard to miss, actually. Another face from the Bingo Book, Maito Gai, simply put… stood out. A tight dress of a particularly virulent green, shiny black hair that stuck close to the scalp and dazzlingly white teeth.

"Kakashi! In what fascinating challenge shall we engross ourselves today?"

The eternal rival scratched the back of his head unenthusiastically. "I'm really not up to it, Gai…"

"CERTAINLY NOT! I will defeat you once and for all today! Else I shall run around the village twenty times on my hands!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. _Twenty times? On his hands?_

"That makes me feel so much better…" Kakashi muttered, but Gai didn't seem to hear him. "All right… how about we help that young woman carry her bags home?"

"Eh? What's the challenge in that?"

"The one whose help she accepts wins…"

Gai was gone from his side in an instant, and had reappeared next to the surprised woman. "My beautiful young spring blossom of Konoha, please allow this worthless fool to carry these for you…" The woman backed away in alarm. Gai fell on his knees and continued, "You might get calluses on your fair dainty hands…"

"Atsushi! Save me from these hooligans!"

A second later, a shinobi, a Chuunin by the looks of it, appeared at her side, a kunai in his hand. He blinked in surprise at the sight of the green-clad jounin groveling on the ground before his fiancée. "Gai-san?"

"Forgive my friend," Kakashi said firmly, pulling Gai back on his feet. "He is easily excitable…"

After the couple disappeared, Gai wanted a rematch. Interrupting a long and passionate argument in favour of the spirit of competition and friendly rivalry, Kakashi, much to Naruto's distress, pointed a finger at him. "That boy seems lost, we should take him home…"

"Ah, my young fellow Leaf citizen! What calamity has befallen you in the spring-time of your youth?"

Naruto fled.

* * *

"And… the moral of the story," Naruto read from the book, "is to be… wary of one who… sweet-talks?" Iruka nodded, "It means flattery." 

Iruka got up. "Well, you seem to have picked up reading and writing, one more session and my mission is finished." He was about to leave, when Naruto interrupted him.

"Umino-sensei, could you lend me something to read?"

"Go to the library," Iruka replied brusquely.

"They won't let me in," Naruto told him matter-of-factly. There was a flash of something in Iruka's face, but it was gone before Naruto could interpret it, to be replaced by an expressionless mask. "And besides, your mission isn't complete yet. It is your duty to provide me with adequate reading material, to ensure that I master it…" Naruto stopped, wondering if he had gone too far.

Iruka looked at him expressionlessly, before pulling out a sheaf of papers from his bag. "These are from the class test," he told Naruto, "These are all that I have at the moment. He gave a few of the papers to Naruto, the ones with the neatest handwriting. "I'll need them back tomorrow, I'll get you something else then…"

Iruka left soon after. Naruto didn't thank him, after all why should he? The man was merely doing his duty, that was all, and he was getting paid for it, right?

He read the title of the test… _'Chakra and how to mould it'_.

* * *

**A/N:** As most of you can probably guess, I'm a fan of Anko! Pity, she hasn't shown up since the Chuunin exam… 

Things will start to deviate from canon from the next chapter, by the way. And things will start to pick up as well!


	4. Prisoner

**I am updating this after a really long time. I don't know when/if I'll be updating again, as I have a lot of other priorities. Are you sure you want to read this? **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Prisoner**

_Place your hands next to each other, the fore and the middle fingers pointing upwards and the ring and the little fingers clenched against the palm._

Naruto carefully folded his palms as the top-scoring student of the Academy recommended. He found it extremely uncomfortable to maintain them in the strange position.

_Now, feel the spiritual energy gathered within your body and channel them into your palms. You will know you are doing it right when there is a steady blue glow seen._

Naruto had no clue what spiritual energy meant, and how one could feel it within them. Still, he closed his eyes and willed for the chakra to flow within his system to his hands. He was remarkably surprised when as the scroll described, his hands acquired a faint bluish aura.

He smiled the beaming smile of self satisfaction. His grin however, stopped abruptly as the edges of his vision blurred, and he felt tired and light-headed. Too late he remembered the warning in the scroll. _Chakra depletion_, he mumbled to himself as his legs collapsed from under him. He closed his eyes, welcoming the darkness

* * *

_Drip._

Was the faucet leaking again?

_Drip._

No, he'd only fixed it last week. Then wh-

_Drip._

No, that wasn't the metallic ringing sound that accompanied a water droplet's fall to the aluminium sink. It was that of a drop falling in a large puddle of water.

_Where was he?_

Naruto's eyes snapped open. He blinked a couple of times in the darkness, trying to make out his surroundings. He felt about with his hands, stiffening in surprise as his fingers brushed a rough stone wall. He tried moving, and the splash made him look down in surprise. He was standing in ankle deep water!

_Where the hell was he?_

_Drip._

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see the roughly hewn stone wall in front of him clearly, with great patches of damp moss hanging from the cracks. He whirled around, and saw another, almost identical wall, a few feet in front of him. He wasn't sure, but squinting through the gloom, they seemed to run parallel to each other, until both were swallowed up by the darkness.

_A tunnel._

Was it his imagination, or could he make out a faint glow from one end of the tunnel? He knelt down, dipping his fingers in the water. It was flowing sluggishly in the opposite direction.

_Upstream it is._

Naruto walked slowly, the splashing sounds of his progress echoing off the walls. The entire place had a dark and gloomy air to it. Had he somehow ended up in the sewers beneath the Hidden Village? The hair on the back of his neck suddenly rose, making his stop.

_Danger._ What was it? Where was the danger? _Something was waiting..._

Something fell on his nose. Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin, so profound was his terror. He laughed out loud when he touched his hand to his nose, and found it wet. Water was dripping from cracks in the ceiling. He stopped his chuckling when the laughter echoed eerily off the walls.

A dark passage emerged to his left. Naruto paused for an instant, peering down the narrow alley. He could make out absolutely nothing. Deciding that he was better off following the faint light, he plodded on. The light had increased in intensity, it was now shining brightly ahead of him.

More passages opened up, but he ignored all of them, resolutely walking on. _Whatever it is, come on quickly... lets get it over with!_

No sooner had the thought flashed through his mind, it seemed, that the passage suddenly came to abrupt halt. He squinted against the bright orange glare, his eyes unable to adjust in time from the utter darkness to this blinding light. He looked up. The ceiling was that of a huge dome, far far above him. Mouth dry, he looked around the gigantic cavern, pretty sure he wasn't in the Konoha sewers anymore...

He walked on ahead, towards the light, his footsteps clattering on the stone floor... _stone floor?_ Naruto paused again, confused._Where had all the water gone?_

Up ahead he could make out a colossal door, gigantic iron bars sprouted from the ground, taller than the tallest tree in Konoha. An old faded strip of paper held the door shut, he saw. Why was there such a massive door out here in the middle of nowhere?

The light faded away abruptly, and he peered ahead in consternation. All he saw were two faintly luminous large balls apparently suspended in mid-air. As they bobbed up and down slowly, he realized something that made his knees go weak.

He realized why this cavern was so big. The balls of light, they were eyes, gleaming malevolently at him. Eyes that belonged to a stunningly huge animal. The door, how could he have been so stupid, it was no door, it was a _cage!_

The huge beast was stretching its forepaws slowly, as though awakening from a deep slumber. A slumber which he had disturbed. As the eyes bored into him with a ruthlessness he could hardly comprehend, his mind screamed at him to run, to save himself. But there seemed something wrong with his legs... they wouldn't move.

The beast padded over to the door, its giant paws making surprisingly little sound on the stone floor. It leant its muzzle against one of the bars, and gave a gentle push. Naruto was sure that the door would open, what could a scrap of paper do to keep the beast imprisoned?

The door didn't budge. The feline pushed harder, but still nothing happened. Something shot out from behind the animal and gripped the bars, for an instant, Naruto thought they were giant snakes, but then he discerned them to be the creature's tails. There were nine of them.

_Nine Tails?_

The beast gave a roar of frustration, as all pretenses lost, it flung itself against the door with all it's might, paws slipping and sliding on the smooth stone floor, and the creature pushed against the cage door with a force that Naruto was certain would crumble to dust any building in Konoha. But the door still didn't budge.

Naruto glanced up at the faded piece of paper. He could vaguely make out characters, and read the word written on it. How strange and utterly incongruous was the word in relation to the surroundings! For on the mouldy yellowing scrap of paper that kept this mighty creature within the cage was written '_Love'..._

The creature recognized the exercise in futility, and gazed thoughtfully at the child in front of it. Naruto didn't like the feeling, it felt as if it was weighing his worth, whether he was worth its time. He tried to speak, but had difficulty finding his voice.

'Hello,' he said tremulously, his weak voice sounding weaker owing to the large cavern he was in.

The creature appeared to make up its mind, and sat down on its haunches. In a puff of smoke it disappeared, and in its place appeared a small, very human girl. Naruto stared at it (her?) in amazement.

'Hello,' the girl replied easily, 'What's your name?'

She seemed normal, around Naruto's age, with a mop of brown hair framing her face. He thought Ayame would have looked a bit like that when she was younger. The girl's eyes, however, were unsettling, they didn't seem to blink so much. He found that he couldn't meet the steady gaze, and opted to look around the cavern instead.

'Who are you?' he asked her instead.

She smiled, revealing a row of perfect pearly white teeth.

'A friend…'

* * *

Naruto woke up, gasping for breath. He looked around, but the stone cavern had disappeared, and the paint-peeled walls of his room were all that were to be seen. He was home again. The memories of the monstrous fox and the short-haired girl remained vividly fresh in his mind, which he found rather strange as he never usually remembered his dreams.

His fingers touched the scattered sheets of paper, which had slipped from his fingers when he had lost consciousness. For the first time, he realized why ninjas were supposed to have the most dangerous jobs, as a simple training exercise was in itself fraught with peril.

He put the papers away, not being in the mood for further reading. He went out for dinner at his usual ramen haunt, and when he spotted Umino Iruka at a nearby stall, he was careful not to make eye-contact, and walked past ignoring him. Just a teacher doing his duty that was all he was. They had no obligations towards each other outside of the hour they spent at his home each evening.

He ate his dinner in silence, causing Ayame to ask him if he was all right. He didn't want to worry the two of them, so he smiled sunnily at her and talked about his reading and writing classes.

That night Naruto was tossing and turning in his bed. He couldn't sleep had the dreams were familiar and disturbing. The scene in the cavern played itself out again, but this time Ayame, her usual smile gone and her hair disheveled, was locked within the cage now, pleading desperately with Naruto to let her free. 'I can't,' Naruto sobbed helplessly, 'I don't know how to, else I would. I can't help you…'

He looked up at the tiny scrap of paper that held Ayame prisoner. Too far above his head for him to reach, too high for him to help Ayame… He had the feeling that it wasn't a piece of paper he could pull off easily. 'Tell me what's written there,' Ayame whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. 'It says love,' muttered Naruto, his forehead against the cold iron bars, 'Love…'

For one moment, he looked up and saw a strangely triumphant look upon Ayame's face, her tear-stained face no longer having the same expression of helplessness, her eyes glittered with some emotion he couldn't name. And then he was wrenched from the place, the world spun briefly, and Naruto woke up sweating.

He staggered to the cistern in the corner of his room and gulped down a couple of glasses of water. He looked out through the window, seeing the Hokage monument bathed in the silvery moonlight. Four powerful faces, gazing down upon what was once their kingdom, their stone eyes set in a stern expression of determination. He wondered idly what their names were, the bingo book did not contain the details of those who were dead after all.

Naruto realized that he was wide awake and had no hope of going to sleep anytime soon. And the top of the Hokage monument seemed like a wonderful place to spend a full moon night. An instant later, he was out through the window, running across rooftops of the silent houses.

He was breathing heavily when he had climbed up to the very top. Gazing down at the sleeping village below him, he knew that he was right in coming here at this time. The outlines of dark houses arrayed neatly in rows. He spotted the Academy a short distance off, the swing on the tree in the playground rocked back and forth by a breeze he couldn't feel. Konoha sleeping peacefully under the moonlight seemed to inspire some strange feeling in his heart. It was beautiful, it was unearthly, it was…

'Home,' a voice near him completed. Naruto jumped in unbridled shock, he hadn't seen anyone here when he'd come up. He turned his head, and was greeted with the sight of the Sandaime leaning casually on the railing, puffing his pipe. 'It is on such nights that we can appreciate the ethereal beauty of Konoha.' He glanced down at Naruto. 'Couldn't sleep?'

'Bad dreams,' If Naruto hadn't been looking down, he'd have seen a brief frown flit across the aged face.

'Want to tell me about it?'

Naruto hesitated. 'It's nothing, just dreams.'

'Hmm…'

They stood in a comfortable silence for a while. 'It's a magical night,' Naruto mumbled after a while.

'It's the full moon,' the Sandaime agreed. 'Makes everything look different, doesn't it?'

'Like an illusion.'

'Many things happen on a full moon night,' the Sandaime spoke reflectively. 'The tides are the highest, there is more night life about and some creatures reach the height of their powers.'

Naruto smiled. 'What kind of creatures?'

'All kinds. Small ones, large ones, dangerous ones…' the old man still spoke reflectively, Naruto wasn't sure if he was serious. 'Just as you have been drawn outside tonight, so have they.'

'So, I shouldn't come out at night then?'

The ancient face wrinkled in a grin. 'Nature did not intend us to be creatures of the night.' He continued, in a more business-like tone, 'I will have a bottle of pills sent to you. They will help you sleep soundly at night. I would strongly advise you to take them.'

Naruto shrugged, 'All right.'

'You seem rather subdued tonight. Is anything the matter?'

Naruto smiled apologetically, 'Nothing, I'm a little tired, that's all.'

The Sandaime puffed thoughtfully for a few moments. 'You know,' his voice had a dreamy tone to it, 'The trouble with wearing masks?' Naruto looked at him sharply, but the old man's face was serene and gave nothing away. 'It extracts a terrible price on the person wearing one.'

'And what is that?' he asked carefully, trying to sound as bored as his companion.

'He who wears a mask often does not know where the mask ends and where he begins.'

Naruto opened his mouth, but met the Sandaime's gentle smile, and shut it. He allowed himself to think about what he had said, and the thoughts ran confusedly within his mind. Combined with the cool night breeze which had started, his eyes began drooping.

The Sandaime continued speaking for a while more, but Naruto couldn't concentrate, his body relaxed and slumped a little as sleep took hold of him.

When he awoke next morning, he was in his bed, tucked in beneath the covers.


End file.
